America's New S-Rank Hunter (1)
“...Huh?”
A tremendous sense of comfort and warmth.
It had been a very long time since I'd felt anything like this.
“Where am I?”
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the quarters a staff member from the Hunter Management Department had shown me when I first arrived.
Had I walked here on my own and simply collapsed into bed? But then, what was with this strange feeling that kept creeping over me?
“Just how long was I asleep?”
It didn't take me long to figure out what felt off.
I had slept deeply, without a single thought for when I needed to get up. I'd been under enormous stress, and I was always racing against the clock — I'd never once had the chance to fall asleep this thoroughly in my life.
I sat up and settled on the edge of the bed.
Then I clenched my right hand into a fist.
“...”
I remember it clearly.
Inside the simulation chamber, I had undeniably grown stronger.
I defeated one-on-one monsters that, if this had been the first day of training, I wouldn't have stood a chance against.
I never felt the pain, but I experienced my body being torn apart, split in two, melted down by venom — and still, I pushed through and arrived.
Even I was stunned.
I never imagined I had that kind of power inside me.
Even the mana that had once been reserved solely for detecting the enemy's magic was now fully available for use in combat.
Why did I never realize it before?
If I possessed S-Rank power in both close-quarters combat and sensory perception, I should have at least once considered the possibility that I had hidden potential lying dormant — that this was an extraordinary ability.
But before, it had been impossible.
Korea simply lacked the technical capability to find it or dig that deep, and I had already drawn the line of my own limits in my head, long ago.
“Whew...”
I'm losing my mind. My heart feels like it's going to burst.
Could anyone be this happy? Even before falling asleep, my brain had nearly short-circuited from the sheer, crushing joy of it.
Then again, I had lived my whole life in the certainty that my limits were already fixed — and that certainty had just shattered in the best possible way.
Knock knock knock.
The sound of a knock at the door.
Despite having slept so long, I somehow dragged my oddly heavy body out of bed and walked over.
This was LA, a foreign country I barely knew.
But in a short time, I'd built up a considerable amount of trust here.
My guard wasn't completely gone, but I trusted them at least to the degree that we were working on the same side.
“James.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Excellent. But how long has it been since I left the lab? My phone was dead, so I couldn't check.”
“It's been three days now.”
“Three days? I slept for three days?”
I was taken aback.
I had no memory of ever sleeping that long in my entire life.
Oh no.
I'd wasted so much time.
I was hardly in a position to be lounging around.
“You were awake for one hundred and forty-four hours by outside standards, in that extreme environment. Three days of sleep isn't excessive at all.”
“Still—”
“I have a rough idea of what's worrying you. The procedures are nearly complete. All that's left is a brief round of formalities, and then you'll be free to go.”
“Ah...”
I nodded.
A little administrative paperwork. And then...
The process of tying up old ties.
“James, please keep the fact that I gained power at the lab confidential for now.”
“Of course. That was my thinking as well.”
Hide thirty percent of your strength. A famous adage.
With power I'd only just acquired, I had no intention of letting it influence the situations I was about to face.
Besides, America was still, to me, nothing short of a jungle.
A section chief of Hunter Management was looking out for me, but as far as I knew, no country on earth practiced survival of the fittest as ruthlessly as this one — and it would be worst of all among hunters, the most savage breed of them all.
At least until I'd established myself to some degree, I needed to be careful.
“Hmm...”
That said, this trip to Korea.
It would probably be my last as a Korean.
Becoming an American hunter meant becoming an American.
I was going to catch hell in Korea. Even if it felt unfair. But I had to own the choice I'd made.
Hope over the Shanghai Gate raid.
Then disappointment over its failure.
The five-year suspension of S-Rank hunter Lee Dohyeon, the man who had led the nation's raids.
In South Korea, already roaring with hunter-related controversies—
News arrived that was more shocking than anything that had come before.
Until just hours before those bulletins started pouring in from every direction, the hottest topic in South Korea had been the debate over whether Lee Dohyeon's disciplinary suspension was excessive or justified.
But Lee Dohyeon's move to America forcibly ended that argument — and sent the frenzy soaring to new heights.
From the moment the article broke, South Korea spent an entire day talking about nothing but Lee Dohyeon.
And movement was detected in political circles as well.
Korea wasn't the only country thrown into chaos over Lee Dohyeon.
The United States — the undisputed world number one both before and after the appearance of the Gates — had just taken an S-Rank hunter from South Korea, one of its key allies.
That sent a chill through many of the world's developed nations.
The dread that their S-Rank hunters — vital national assets — might be the next ones poached.
For the past few days, it had been the single hottest issue on the international stage.
Lee Dohyeon was no longer a Korean S-Rank hunter.
The public's reaction nearly spiraled into shock, fear, and outright panic before settling on a different conclusion: maybe it wasn't that big of a loss after all.
As far as the public knew, Lee Dohyeon was simply the young raid team leader, an S-Rank — nothing more. He had never shown the slightest interest in boasting about his own achievements.
“Dohyeon.”
“...”
“I honestly don't know how things came to this.”
Korean Hunter Association headquarters.
During my brief stop in Korea, I went to see Association President Kim Man-soo one last time.
He'd known me ever since I first awakened, and now I was no longer a Korean hunter.
“You know, I thought I'd get torn apart the moment I set foot in Korea. It's been surprisingly quiet.”
“This could turn into a diplomatic issue between Korea and the United States now. Everyone's keeping a close eye on your safety and security.”
“I see.”
“Right now the aides of several National Assembly members — and even the Blue House — are saying they want to meet you. Pointless, I assume?”
“You know me well.”
“I do.”
The president suddenly rose from his seat.
“You've been through a lot. Thank you for your service.”
Kim Man-soo extended his hand.
I stood as well and shook it.
“Stay healthy.”
“You as well, Mr. President.”
A simple farewell. Anything messier would have cheapened it.
But I have nothing to apologize for.
In this new land — in America — I would claim everything this country never gave me.
With that, I stepped out of the room.
“...”
Apparently the security wasn't as airtight as advertised.
An avalanche of calls had piled up over the past two days.
“Tch.”
A curse slipped out before I could stop it.
Han Ye-won had been calling nonstop, and I couldn't just ignore her.
Feelings from the past still had a grip on my ankles.
I bit my lip once, then dialed.
She picked up with startling speed.
“Ye-won.”
(Dohyeon!)
“Yeah, it's me.”
(What is going on with you? Why America, all of a sudden?)
“That's just how it worked out.”
(Dohyeon, I can't do this without you! Where are you right now? I'll come to you—)
“...”
So in the end, nothing about Han Ye-won had changed from the very first day we met. It was always like this.
“Ye-won, I'm going to say one thing and hang up. From now on, make your own judgments. Stop depending on other people.”
(Dohy—!)
Click.
Cutting off her desperate cry, I ended the call.
“Pathetic.”
The moment it disconnected, I mocked myself under my breath.
Why on earth had I lived like this? A girl who leaned on me for no reason. Honestly, there was nothing in it for me — I'd kept it going on nothing but that hollow word, duty.
What really irritated me was that even in this very moment, some part of me was genuinely worried about Han Ye-won.
She had everything in the world except self-esteem. Honestly, she got under my skin — but it was time for me to change too.
Now, let's see.
Talking to her would just be irritating, so I decided to ignore it. It was meaningless now anyway. I just hoped she'd tone down that hair-trigger temper of hers.
“Huh?”
I was about to power off my phone when a KakaoTalk message caught my eye.
Slam.
I shut the phone off on the spot.
I should have done it sooner.
Let's just see, shall we.
Whether I could survive in America — or not.
The Lee Dohyeon of Korea was finished, as of now.
I would kill the man I used to be, reaffirm exactly what I desired, and march forward to seize it with my own hands.
“Are you certain that's where you'd like to stay?”
“Yes. If anything, it's more than a place like that deserves for a man living alone.”
“Hahahaha! For a talent of your caliber, that's hardly—”
The US Hunter Association West Coast Branch, in Los Angeles.
The moment I arrived in America, I met with James Jordan.
I now had a place to stay for the foreseeable future. At first he'd offered me a mansion in one of the wealthiest districts, but I turned it down and asked for a penthouse in an apartment building not far from the branch offices instead.
In Korea I'd lived in a fairly spacious mansion, but in America, where I hadn't yet found my footing, somewhere I could move quickly suited me better.
A fancy home could wait. There'd be time to look for one later.
“I'll be returning to Washington D.C. starting tomorrow. And today, Hunter Lee Dohyeon, there's someone I'd like to introduce you to.”
“Someone to introduce?”
“You'll need a secretary to assist you going forward — didn't I mention it before?”
“Ah... right, you did.”
I nodded.
I just hoped they wouldn't be some strange character.
Knock knock knock.
“That must be her. Come in, please.”
I stepped slightly to the side, ready to greet the person entering.
The door swung open.
Beyond anything I could have imagined, a tall white woman walked in.
“...”
My lips trembled before I could stop them.
“Say hello. This is Hunter Lee Dohyeon.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Hannah Kapeltz.”
“Ah... yes... hello...”
Embarrassing as it is to admit, I briefly malfunctioned.
This can't be real.
A young, beautiful white woman — the last person you'd expect to find working at the US Hunter Association.
Her business suit suited her flawlessly, but her very presence here felt like a mismatch.
With the last shreds of my guard from arriving in this country still intact, there was only one explanation my mind could conjure.
Don't tell me... is this a honey trap?